Summary:
We talked about the Indian epic story Ramayana which was written in 550 BCE by Valmiki. This date places this story between The Odyssey, at about 800 BCE, and Medea, at 443 BCE. Similar to Homer, we know nothing about him other than his name and what he informs us in the frame story (which is not part of our reading) and cannot be taken for truth. This story qualifies as an epic because it includes the epic conventions (similies, epithets, repetition, and catalogues) and it is a religious and instructing text. This work was very important in Indian culture and continues to be to present day, in the form of bedtime stories, dances, festivals, theater, comics, and many others. Other similar works of literature that have this kind of impact in our society are the Bible, works by Shakespeare, stories about the founding fathers and of colonial days, and Aesop stories.
Because this was a religious text, the proper way to live was exemplified in this story. A big theme was dharma. According to Indian culture, dharma is one's religious duty and holds the whole social-moral fabric of society together. Rama epitomizes this virtue throughout the epic by both following it and persuading others to do the same.
Furthermore, the similarities among The Ramayana of Valmiki, The Odyssey, and Medea were discussed. Such points compared and contrasted are the following: whether the protagonist is a good example of a hero; a theme meant to teach others (i.e. dharma, xenia); physical appearance; relationship with a god; royal standings; marital status; and general demeanor.
word count: 268
Passages:
- "If, as you say, you are devoted to dharma, then it is your duty to stay here and serve me, your mother. I, as your mother, am as much worthy of your devotion and service as your father is: and I do not give you permission to go to the forest. If you disobey me in this, terrible will be your suffering in hell. I cannot live here without you. If you leave, I shall fast unto death." Rama, devoted as he was to dharma, spoke: "Among our ancestors were renowned kings who earned fame and heaven by doing their father's bidding. Mother I am but following their noble example." -Book 2, Ayodhya 21, Pages 730-731
- Kausalya said again: "How can Rama born of me and the mighty emperor Dasaratha live on food obtained by picking up grains and vegetables and fruits that have been discarded? He whose servants eat dainties and delicacies--how will he susbsist on roots and fruits? Without you, Rama, the fire of separation from you will soon burn me to death. Nay, take me with you, too, if you must go." Rama replied: "Mother, that would be extreme cruelty towards father. So long as father lives, please serve him: this is the eternal religion. To a woman her husband is verily god himself. I have no doubt that the noble Bharata will be very kind to you and serve you as I serve you. I am anxious that when I am gone, you should console the king so that he does not feel my separation at all. Even a pious woman who is otherwise righteous, if she does not serve her husband, is deemed to be a sinner. On the other hand, she who serves her husband attains blessedness even if she does not worhsip the gods, perform the rituals or honor the holy men." -Book 2, Ayodhya 24-25, Page 732
- As Rama proceeded in his radiant chariot towards his father's palace, the people were saying to one another: "We shall be supremely happy hereafter, now that Rama will be king. But, who cares for all this happiness? When we behold Rama on the throne, we shall attain eternal beatitude!" Rama heard all this praise and the people's worhsipful homage to him, with utter indifference as he drove along the royal road. -Book 2, Ayodhya 17-18, Page 729
- Promptly and without the least sign of displeasure, Rama said: "So be it! I shall immediately proceed to the forest, to dwell there clad in bark and animal skin." -Book 2, Ayodhya 19-20, Page 729-730
These passages illustrate two things.
First, they show two of the principals of Dharma. To obey the edicts of Dharma, one must respect and obey their supreriors, especially their parents. Rama's mother tries to use this against Rama, to persuade him to stay in Ayodhya or to allow her to accompany him. Rama however counters by pointing out that in accordance with dharma, his devotion to his father outranks his devotion to his mother, so he must go. Rama points out that his mother can't accompany him, as that would violate the principal that wives must be absolutely devoted to their husbands, or else they are deemed to be a sinner, and thus Kausalya must stay in Ayodhya. Another principal of dharma shown in these passages is in Rama's behavior regarding the adulation of the people at the coronation ceremony. He is following good practice by being utterly indifferent to it all; he is staying calm and dispassionate, even as the crowd cheers for him.
Second, the passages show that Rama is an ideal man, wholly devoted to Dharma. It is believable that most people would get excited and eager at the prospect of becoming the ruler of a kingdom, or disheartened upon finding out he won't be ruler after all. Rama is neither; all that matters to him here is following good practice, and upholding his father's honor and integrity such that his promises may be kept. He is so devoted that he refuses to stay with his mother or allow her to come, Kausalya's wishes, as he feels obeying her before his father would be a violation of dharma. Even the people of the kingdom recognize Rama's devotion, stating that Rama being ruler would be all it would take to bring the entire populace of the kingdom one step closer to sainthood.
Terms:
Frame Story- the edges for a story that is really the reason that the inner story pieces together. (ex. The Princess Bride)
Beatitude- saintliness; not interested in being happy but saintlier
Dharma- one's religious duty and the social-moral fabric of Indian culture. In addition to dharma, three other principles guide society:
1. moksa- liberation from reincarnation
2. artha- wealth, political power
3. kama- pleasure and love
Comments (3)
Brian Croxall said
at 12:38 pm on Sep 19, 2009
This is a good start to the notes for the semester, and there are things that are being done well in each of the three sections. I especially appreciated the detail with which you explain the passages. You've obviously discovered an important strategy: that if I've limited what you are allowed to say in the summary of the class, you are more than welcome to write further in the passages, where there is no word limit.
Where your notes need the most work at the moment is the summary. You do a good job in covering everything that was said in class. But covering everything is not really the goal. Instead, you should include the main points of what we discuss in class (there are normally 2-3 per class). Once you've isolated these points, you should organize your summary by them. Rather than one big paragraph and rather than writing your notes based on the order in which we talk about things during the actual class period, think about using one paragraph per main point. You do a good job of providing a lot of the background material for the Ramayana, but this material isn't as important as, say, our discussion of what makes Rama a hero or what dharma is. You could spend more time on the latter and less on the former. And beatification isn't as important as you've made it out here. (Which certainly could point to my having overemphasized this point. You see, I learn from these notes too.)
Brian Croxall said
at 12:38 pm on Sep 19, 2009
You've chosen good passages, but there are a few problems with them as they stand now. First, you've chosen four passages, but you are only allowed to have three. In every class we will certainly read more than three passages that are important, and part of your task is to do your best to determine what is important. As I said, you did pick good ones, but you can be still more narrow. Second, you should have explanations following each passage. This will make it easier to study those particular passages and why they are important. Think of how you could make these notes the most effective exam prep possible (because that's what they are). As I said at the beginning, what you have here by way of explanation is very good, but you can do a better job in formatting things.
Your definitions are in general good, and I'm glad that you made a distinction between the two types of dharma. It's certainly not wrong to continue hitting on the main points of the class in the definitions, as you do in the definition of dharma. But the way it is worded makes it appear that the goal of the Ramayana is to teach all four of these principles. Or at least that's one way that you could read what has been written here. Strive for clarity.
Brian Croxall said
at 4:57 pm on Sep 24, 2009
I've just looked at the revisions to these notes. John did a good job in making the main points of class more apparent and stripping out the confusing passages about beatification. More time could still have been spent on Rama's own characteristics, which could have been useful for today's exam. The definitions have been shaped up a bit, although it's still confusing. I think that this has more to do with how I taught the concept of dharma, however. I'll have to rethink my approach. And from what I can tell, no changes have been made to the passages.
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